He is Holy, Holy, Holy!
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah 6:3 (KJV)
Holy, holy, holy is a threefold repetition that emphasizes how holy God is. Holiness speaks of God’s purity of character; His moral purity and absolute separateness from sin. God is above sin and against all sin. Holiness is God’s number one character trait.
Holy in Hebrew is the word qadosh, which means sacred, holy, separated. Use of the word holy three times speaks of the Trinity. God is a triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit- all of whom are completely holy.
Lord is the word Yehovah, or as we say it, Jehovah. It is also rendered Yahweh, which means “I AM.” It describes the God who is. He is self-existent and eternal. It means God is and He will always be, and He will be whatever He needs to be to meet our needs. Jehovah is often paired with other words in Scripture to describe various aspects of God’s character in more detail. For example, when paired with the word Jireh it forms the title Jehovah-Jireh: the God who sees, or the God who provides. So this verse tells us that the God who is self-existing is pure and set apart from sin.
Glory speaks of God’s presence. When we come into God’s presence, we become aware of His holiness. God is holy so we are to be holy according to I Peter 1:16. We are made pure and holy by the blood of Jesus, but we can experience more of God by continuing in holiness, living lives apart from sin. The holiness of God releases the glory of God; His manifest presence. The more we remain centered in Christ, living separated to God, the more we can experience His presence.
When we experience more of God’s presence, we’ll declare God’s holiness as they do in Heaven. In God’s manifest presence, we’ll be saying in unison with the seraphim in Heaven, “Holy! Holy! Holy!” and “Glory! Glory! Glory!” The more we experience God and his glory, the more we will be touched, changed, and made like Him so He can use us.
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. II Corinthians 3:17-18 (KJV)
